


the housebreak algorithm

by loserhao (chenstanclub)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Angst, Cats, Dogs, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, animals turning into humans, commitment issues, past!gyuhao - Freeform, platonic junhao, roommates!verhao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24878536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenstanclub/pseuds/loserhao
Summary: When Minghao said he’d wanted to be married one day and living in a house by the beach with his lover and a dog, he didn’t give that last, very minute detail too much thought. He especially didn’t think that his roommate would give it so much thought either.Alternatively: the au about a boy and his dog who turns into a person. (not a hybrid or ABO fic)
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Lee Seokmin | DK/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	the housebreak algorithm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [semperfemina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/semperfemina/gifts).



> I started writing this when I was feeling kinda down so I hope reading it helps you if you're feeling kinda down

It’s not that he didn’t like dogs. Or that he preferred cats—though, it could be said that if the choice must be made, choosing a cat would be more suitable.

When Minghao said he’d wanted to be married one day and living in a house by the beach with his lover and a dog, he didn’t give that last, very minute detail too much thought. He especially didn’t think that his roommate would give it so much thought either.

Vernon was many things; a clean person who was very considerate. He was the kind that doesn’t hold it against Minghao if he critiqued the Chinese food they went to get. He was fair about divvying up the chores too and it was his idea to bring their laundry downstairs to do in bulk, but splurge to have it folded occasionally because sometimes he just doesn’t wanna go through the hassle of folding it himself, man. Minghao respected that.

He appreciates Vernon’s brave endeavor to find a Chinese restaurant far away from China that he’d enjoy knowing it’s nothing like this in Anshan. Appreciates Vernon letting him move into the room facing the front of the building because that’s where the most light gets in. He can respect Vernon having some friends over late into the evening because they’re never very loud when Minghao says good night and sometimes, Jisoo will bring a nice bottle of wine that they find time to polish off together.

Likewise, Vernon cannot cook. Or he can, but whether they can eat it or not is usually a mystery that remains somehow unsolved even after they’ve eaten. But Minghao cooks and he likes to think he’s quite good at it, having little to do with his roommate’s food’s inedibility. So he cooks. They take turns getting groceries. He keeps lists. Vernon checks them.

Overall, it is harmonious. It is – usually – quiet and peaceful. Their homeostasis is maintained through a mostly equal symbiosis, though Minghao is sure he can do better at times. But until he figures out how to make paint smell less like paint, Vernon doesn’t seem to want for anything more from him and the feeling is mutual.

He thought the feeling was mutual.

🐶

“Did you know our apartment allows pets?”

“I didn’t know it was relevant.”

“It’s not. I just—” An easy shrug. “Wasn’t sure before.”

Minghao nodded just as easy. “Now you are. What time does work end today?”

And at the time, he still didn’t see how it was relevant because sometimes Vernon just said things for the sake of saying them. He was a—comforting kind of talker, the type that talked for those who preferred to listen because it takes a lot to talk back and, in a way, Vernon was listening too.

It was just a matter of whether Minghao wanted to meet him halfway. Though half is generous, and he likes to think of it as closer to a quarter, but Vernon was good about that too, chooses to think of it as half anyway. It’s comforting.

What’s not very comforting was having to tell his roommate with whom he cultivated a generally amiable understanding with over the last year and a half that he was not a dog person.

Some days, he’s hardly a people person, but people were easier. People understood boundaries—at some point, to some extent. Human beings know how to take a hint when you don’t call or text them back. And human beings don’t need one another to survive.

Cats were a touch better. They didn’t always like him on the chance he encountered them, but at least it was never a surprise. Cats don’t need people—or at least, cats know they don’t want people. They’re not obligated to like him so when they don’t, he doesn’t need to keep trying.

Dogs are different. Dogs need people. Dogs just _need_ and they love and they are constant, and it doesn’t matter in which order of importance those qualities were ranked because they are all at once important at the same time always.

Which is probably an insensitive metaphor for his commitment issues and if he’d been able to articulate that whenever Vernon dropped little crumbs of hints here and there like the fairytale little boy he was, they could have discussed it properly.

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Jun said after the third week since the Great Pet-Friendly Apartment Debacle was brought up. The first time he’d brought it up was over a study session in the library and they’d both waved it off because it was a weird thing to just randomly bring up, but—Vernon was weird. Didn’t hurt anybody. Just weird sometimes.

But in these last three weeks, Jun becomes verbally invested. They’d talk in between dead shifts at the convenience store if Vernon mentioned seeing a dog on the way home from work or when he’d send Minghao dog memes, in other study sessions if Vernon happened to notice their neighbors who had – mostly cats – pets that he never knew about before.

It was getting to be worrisome, or Minghao supposed he should be worried when the off-handed comments seemed like they were meant to lead somewhere, but Vernon never really took them very far. And he certainly wasn’t going to take any possible bait and ask his roommate about wanting a pet.

Jun tapped his fingers on the counter, eyes flitting between the cash register and the assorted candies they were _not_ entitled to though that fact has never stopped him. “Maybe he wants to get a cat?”

“Not a cat person.”

“Maybe he wants me to bring my cat.”

Which wouldn’t be so bad. Minghao liked Wonwoo. He was a beautiful, lithe thing with grey fur and padded toes the softest shade of pink. He was also a rescue, but at this point, Jun’s had him for years and he’d mellowed out, let go of that fight or flight jitteriness. It had both to do with Wonwoo being a rescue and Jun’s ability to instantly, with astonishing immediacy and patience, to love him.

Minghao let out a short breath. “He brought up having a dog when he was a kid. When he was living in New York with his parents?”

“Seungkwan has a dog.” Jun shrugged. “It could just be that he’s trying to ask you if it’s okay to bring Bookkeu over.”

It’s not.

“It’s not.” He liked Seungkwan just fine. As far as Vernon’s friends go, Seungkwan was probably the second most frequent visitor after Jisoo, third if Minghao counted Jun. Maybe still third if he counted Mingyu who was his and Vernon’s mutual friend. And then there were the times all of them came over together.

Regardless, the math wasn’t important. Minghao liked Seungkwan plenty, but Bookkeu is—he had nothing against Seungkwan’s dog, really. He’s a very cute, small white dog, the kind they saw everywhere in a city with apartments that didn’t have much space.

But the more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense that Vernon would want a dog because the two of them spent so much time together. It’s just that playing with someone else’s dog for a few hours now and then is definitely not the same as owning one. And if Vernon wants to get a dog, that means he thinks he’s responsible enough and because they are living together, that also means he thinks Minghao is responsible enough too.

And at this point, he’s running out of reasons for why he wouldn’t be a good dog owner because, in all honesty, the two of them together could make it work. But it’s just—it’s just that—

“You’re internalizing this,” Jun pointed out with a finger jabbed into his chest. “I don’t know how but it’s all over your face. Either that or you ate something bad.”

He pushed the offensive finger away, scowling as his hand went up to smooth the stressed lines of his mouth.

But of course, Jun pressed on. “Just tell Vernon you’re not ready for a dog. I mean, it’s not like he’s gonna get one anyway without telling you.”

Because that would be the worst-case scenario, something Minghao is sure that his ever-reliable and agreeable roommate wouldn’t actually do. It wouldn’t be good for the well-sustained habitat of their shared living space and it certainly wouldn’t be good for any dog Vernon had in mind to bring home.

Running a hand through his hair, Minghao nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, if he brings it up again, then I’ll say something. But he’s probably not even thought it through too deeply yet, knowing him.”

🐶

Vernon brings it up for real that Friday night, one of the few times in the week that neither of them has class or work. He’s thought about it quite thoroughly, rather deeply, Minghao realizes with something akin to dread but also awe as his roommate draws up the calendar on his own phone. It’s a prospective walking schedule for the dog, which will – _will_ , not _can_ – be adjusted depending on how old the dog is.

“And y’know, if our schedules change, we can easily just rearrange it or like—” He shrugged, smiling to himself. “As long as they get to go outside or even just around the block.”

His parents had recommended a number of different dog food brands if either of them was too busy to cook for the dog – _who cooks for a dog?_ – and there was a particularly tender glimmer in Vernon’s eyes when he quickly added that they wouldn’t have to get any toys; Sofia can drop off some of the ones their family dog had.

There was no question about it; or rather, there didn’t seem to be any room to question it. Vernon’s mind was made up, but what’s actually unsettling is that Vernon had made up his mind thinking that Minghao would want this too.

Not that he could really blame Vernon for thinking so, dogs are generally easy to love, and most people do.

Most people would love to bring a reasonably sized dog home to a reasonably sized living space that would keep said dog from being claustrophobic, even more so with a reliable person who shared the living space and prepared so much before the dog even arrived so that it would feel at home.

But some people couldn’t handle that kind of… that type of—

Oh.

It’s pressure. That’s the word Minghao was racking his brain for. Pressure.

Because dogs _need_ someone else to survive and _that’s_ love and-and he’s still not quite sure why that feels like so much pressure, but it is, and he can’t remember the last time he’s wanted that kind of permanence with anyone since he and Vernon signed the lease. So why was Vernon so sure that he’d want to get a dog together?

His mouth opens to ask how his roommate could have come to that conclusion, but then Vernon’s got that wistful, far-off look in his eyes again. Something warm, tender again, too much to be longing but maybe closer to hoping.

“I mean, I know you always said you’d wanted to be married someday with a dog. Can’t help you with the marrying thing, but I’m with you on that last part.”

Minghao’s mouth moves, but no sound comes out. He feels like a goldfish with embarrassingly small lips and it must show on his face along with another slew of emotions because Vernon’s not looking too sure now that they’re finally looking at each other.

There’s something weirdly visceral about disappointment when he’s on the giving end of it. His roommate, and really his friend at this point, had clearly given this a lot more thought than Minghao had anticipated, but it’s not the thought that counts in this case.

No, the trouble here is that Vernon really _cares_. Vernon is invested and he wants a dog, made all these semi-tentative plans that make things easy and accommodating on Minghao, which is really exactly how they’re living now. So.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I’d be a very good owner.”

“You would,” Vernon said with a quirk of his mouth. “We’d be great dog dads. We’d be the envy of the PTA.”

And there went his last-ditch effort. Not a very good one in the least, but Minghao had tried. It was just overwhelming because Vernon was more endearing than Minghao was cynical. Not that the math matters, but it makes all the difference.

“If I say I’ll think about it, are you gonna bring one home anyway?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay, then I’ll—”

“But I did find a shelter.”

“Vernon.”

He shrugged again, a weirdly big movement for someone who was the same height. But then, Vernon is broader. Everything about him is just a little bigger when Minghao thinks about it.

His shoulders, his chest.

“Just come with me on Sunday,” he said, smiling easy and warm. “It’s a great place to be thinking about it.”

His heart too.

Minghao’s hand is in his hair as he looks away, head leaning into his palm and heavy from this pressure that’s been weighing on him since Vernon mentioned meeting the Kwon family cat two floors down even though they’ve been neighbors for a year.

“Myungho.”

He bites down on his lip before willing, _forcing_ , all 43 muscles in his face to relax. Just relax. The hand in his hair lowered to smooth the harsh lines around his mouth. His head tilts up, elbows resting on their kitchen table – it’s Vernon’s from his parents but he’s too nice to call it his – and holds the back of his neck. Feels his conviction slipping.

“I’ll help you get things ready.” His lips purse slightly in the effort to return Vernon’s smile, but his doesn’t look the same. Doesn’t bloom and brighten the room like Vernon’s does. “And help in general. As much as I can. So I’ll leave you to it.”

He can tell that that wasn’t the answer Vernon expected, but it wasn’t _no_. It was a _yes_ that was willing to compromise. It meant they can and certainly will get a dog, make a nice home for their new pet and be good dog parents.

Vernon’s smile is smaller than he’d thought considering the outcome, but the kitchen table starts to wobble so Minghao knows that his leg is shaking contentedly. The slow creep of excitement wasn’t enough to alleviate any of the pressure he still felt weighing on him. But it could be okay. Minghao can be okay with this.

“I’m gonna shower,” he said first, wanting to roll himself in the comfort of not having to think any more on the subject, and gets up. “We’re almost out of bread so I’ll put it on the list.”

“Cool, I’ll get some tomorrow.” Vernon is still smiling from across the table.

Minghao nods, lips pursed politely as he turns.

“Myungho,” Vernon said to his back. “Thank you.”

He can be okay with this because it’s Vernon. As far as roommates and even friends go, it doesn’t get better than Vernon Chwe. He doesn’t want for anything, not more than what Minghao can give. There’s no push or pull. There just is.

“Ah,” he nodded, “Sure thing,” and went to stew in the shower.

🐶

Because _Myungho_ sounds different. It’s such a stupid thing to place value in a name that someone else gave him, but he does. Because it’s not stupid, really. It means something.

It’s more so that Minghao came here three, almost four years ago. He was alone – but not lonely – and then there was Junhui who called him Minghao and called him at too odd hours of the night just to scope out a noodle spot that _almost_ tasted like the ones in Shenzhen. A little too sour, not spicy enough.

Then Jun introduced him to Mingyu, and two friends meant he didn’t have to think he was alone – but still not lonely – because a new friend came with a new name. Came with the kind of acceptance that followed comfort, that followed fondness and tender affection and—

And for a while, Minghao was comfortable. He was fond. Felt like he was made tender. Minghao made room. Let Mingyu in. And let _Myungho_ in too.

But a year ago, nearing two actually, Mingyu left.

The room was still there. With _Myungho_ still in it.

Minghao kept his ex and the easy sound of that name at an arm’s length because it was the right thing to do. It didn’t seem right to just cut the thread because by the time he realized how tight the knot had become, Mingyu was already too wound up in his life. Worse, Minghao found himself unraveling the moment he had realized it.

Because being with Mingyu, getting caught up, becoming so tangled up in another person that you can’t breathe without them—feeling so absolutely shattered when you realize that you can. You definitely can. He could—be without Mingyu. It wasn’t fair, really.

They weren’t dying. They weren’t at the end of the line. Both still young, ridiculously so, and there was time, there was so much time and places too. Maybe there could have been so many places they could have gone together. Knowing Mingyu and his patience and-and how _willing_ he was to want to make it work—but Minghao knew himself. And it was a lot better to hurt for a while and not know than to have gone through the motions, to learn and realize and then by the end, really know.

 _That would be so much worse_ , Minghao remembers saying to him, _going through all of that and not getting what you want._

So he let Mingyu go, evicted him if the metaphor is consistent. The room was still there. _Myungho_ still in it.

By the time they’d broken up, Minghao’s first roommate was already in the process of moving out. With no options or word to anyone besides Junhui, he found himself sitting on the living room floor with a blank canvas and the lingering, forlorn sadness of keeping that space where he made room, let someone else in, then made them leave.

The last thing he expected was that someone helping him out of the dilemma.

That day Minghao answered the door, Vernon’s hair was longer and curled down around the apples of his cheeks. He looked broader than Minghao then too, his smile easy and friendly.

“Hello?”

“You’re Myungho, right? I’m Vernon.” He held his hand out.

Minghao took it, distracting himself from the momentary whiplash. It hadn’t been that long since he and Mingyu last spoke, but the name sounded as foreign as the first time he heard it, when it was first given to him.

“Mingyu told me you were looking for a roommate. Can I come in?”

“Oh, I—yes.” He stepped aside to open the door wider, lowering his head slightly.

“It’s cool, I’m younger than you,” Vernon said quickly as his eyes swept the room. “You’ve got a lot of space here. And it’s super clean.”

“Thanks.” _My name is Minghao._ “It’s not that big. The kitchen area takes up a bit of it.”

“Nah, I like that. Being close to food—even though I can’t cook,” he grinned without any shame. “It’s comforting, y’know?”

“I can cook.” _You can call me Minghao._ “So yeah, I get it. I’ll show you the bedroom actually, uh—here, it’s this way.”

Vernon followed the short distance, humming when he saw the bare windows. It was empty save for the bedframe his old roommate had left behind so it felt more open than it should.

He watched Mingyu’s friend walk around, the first thought was that 1) Jun told Mingyu about his sudden – not so sudden – need for a roommate, 2) it was terribly nice of Mingyu to help given their… circumstances, and 3) Mingyu’s friend was jarringly harmless.

There was still a very slim chance this guy was hiding bodies or a total slob, maybe both, but Minghao couldn’t help but be unnerved by how he was _not_ entirely uncomfortable around someone he’s just met.

Well—it helped that Mingyu sent him.

He needed to stop thinking about Mingyu.

“It’s Myungho, right?”

Minghao looked up, nodded, cursed inwardly at the force of habit. “Well, it’s—”

“Do you want to get some food?” Mingyu’s friend adjusted the strap of his bag, bouncing on the heels of his feet once as he smiled. “I figure it’s kinda weird for me to just drop in like this, right?”

Food, he could do. All people can, really. It’s just food. Food is nice. Food is harmless. It’s really just food.

He nodded, met with an earnest grin before they’re walking together to the door.

Once they slipped their shoes on – and Minghao’s very glad Mingyu’s friend was civilized enough to take them off at the door – Minghao thinks about where they should go to eat. Not that he’s trying too hard to make a good first impression, but reciprocity seems justifiable given that someone else made the first move to try.

“Oh, what were you saying before?”

He looked up after locking the door. “Hm?”

“You were trying to say something, but I think—I think I cut you off when I asked about food?”

“You called me Myungho.” It rests heavily on his tongue. The weight of it, with all the implications, the memories. Regrets. “I haven’t heard that name in a while.”

“Is it okay?”

They make their way downstairs before he has an answer for Vernon because in a way, it didn’t matter to Minghao anymore and in a lot of other ways, it still matters too much. Because he has a habit of thinking in binaries. Because he isn’t Minghao with Mingyu, isn’t Myungho without Mingyu. Isn’t either, can’t be both.

“I’m not sure,” he says when they make it out of the lobby. “I go by Minghao mostly.”

“My friends in New York call me Vernon but some call me Hansol,” Vernon says and Minghao repeats it to himself silently, tongue around the soft curves of the name. “I prefer Vernon, but both are okay. What about you?”

It’s weird to think that both can be okay because Minghao has spent all this time wondering if both of his are okay. He knows Minghao is okay. Minghao has always been safe, always been who he is.

Myungho is baggage. Something left behind and should be forgotten, only to be taken out on really bad days, really hard times when things just aren’t great but not okay enough to ignore. It’s a lot like regret. It’s an easy kind of hurt to hold onto once he’s learned to be comfortable in it.

“Myungho is okay too,” Minghao answers and closes the door. Beside him, Vernon grins. He manages to smile back.

The room is still empty, but at the very least, it doesn’t feel nearly as lonely. Even if Vernon decides not to move in, it’s still nice in the moment. Minghao remembers feeling just a bit better anyway.

🐶

He left Vernon to it because they’d have a lot to get ready before the dog could be brought home. More than that, he left Vernon to it because _“I did find a shelter”_ sounded like his roommate’s way of saying, _“I’ve been visiting a shelter since I first brought this up and I think I’ve found the one”_ so Minghao took it upon himself to go about getting ready.

He was right. There was time to figure out whether it’s something he should be smug about if only because there wasn’t much time to decide if he was ready for it to be happening. While Vernon confessed to his little – big but not unforgivable – lie, Minghao watched him put away bread from the bakery that was two extra train stops away – the subtle milk flavor was worth the extra two dollars too – and ended up tabling the decision.

So the dog will be coming sooner rather than later. He can be okay with that.

It left him a little – a lot – less time to wrap his head around the idea of becoming a dog owner. But he could be okay with that.

Seungkwan had come over a little later that night with advice, a list of things they would need, and promises to bring Bookkeu once the new member of their family was ready for a new friend. Minghao—Minghao wasn’t sure if he was okay with any of that last part. But he knew he would feel bad if Vernon felt bad that he doesn’t think of this dog as family yet. Vernon wouldn’t say that, of course.

It’s just that Minghao had a feeling he’d think it. And that was probably worse than saying it. That would ruin the homeostasis. And he just—did not want that.

🐶

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad,” Jisoo told him when he came over to polish off some leftover wine. “Dogs are easier than cats. You know Wonwoo still doesn’t look at me? Jun thinks it’s a phase.”

“He also thinks Wonwoo knows what he’s meowing at him.” Minghao pauses. “What if it doesn’t like me?”

“You’re the one other person with the food and leash for walks, he’ll like you even if you call him an ‘it’.”

His back falls against the couch, empty wine glass cradled to his stomach. Seungkwan holds Bookkeu like this.

“Could be worse.” Jisoo stretches his legs out, socked toes prodding Minghao’s under the coffee table. “Myungho, you act like you have to date the dog.”

“It’s a serious commitment. There are feelings involved.”

Jisoo lets out a breath, the corner of his mouth tugged up. He looks sort of like a fox that way. “Let’s hope you actually catch some. Otherwise, your plan for a house by the beach with your lover and a dog needs some serious revision.”

_God, you say it once and suddenly it’s your entire personality._

“Wait.” Minghao opens his eyes. “Vernon told you it was a he? It’s” – _fuck_ – “a boy?”

He shrugs. “I’m assuming, yeah. Sounds like a boy dog name.”

🐶

Dokyeom ( _“DK for short!”_ ) is very much a boy name because he is very much a boy dog. A bit more than a year old, he’s a lot bigger than both Bookkeu and Aji who were both yappy little white dogs. Dokyeom is a comfortable medium which means he’s too big to fit in anyone’s lap comfortably but small enough that he could still be carried. He was a mix of something and something else, the shelter staff couldn’t tell much more than that. But his fur was a wiry, smooth kind the color of burnt copper and he didn’t shed. Minghao was very okay with that.

When Vernon steps through the door, the Styrofoam multicolor puzzle mat was set up outside by the window. They’d agreed that he’d surely enjoy laying under the sun, but he would eat in the kitchen so the tiles would be easy cleanup. If he were to sleep in their – Vernon’s – beds, whoever last walked him was responsible for making sure he was clean enough for it. When Vernon works nights, Minghao will feed him and vice versa. They’ll try the walking schedule once the dog adjusts to living at home.

Judging from his first night with them, though, Dokyeom seemed to have little to no trouble. In fact, he’s so comfortable, if he were human, Minghao would think it possible for orphans to overstay their welcome. But then he realized that was a horrible thing to think so he kept it to himself. Besides, it’s good that the dog seemed happy.

Dokyeom had come out of his carrier on excited legs, tail wagging gently but his mouth open, pink tongue lolling out as Vernon watched, grinning. He didn’t bark but panted as his head swung back and forth almost as fast his tail. Minghao stayed a comfortable distance so as not to overwhelm him, even when Vernon got down on the floor and Dokyeom launched himself into his arms.

It’s not that he didn’t want to join them, he really just didn’t want to overwhelm Dokyeom, really. And really, Vernon looks like he’ll be fine for now playing with him. Because honestly, Minghao can just-just get acquainted when Dokyeom was ready for that which clearly is not now.

“I’ll put some food out,” he mumbles at the same time Vernon says much too affectionately, “DK, you wanna say hi to Myungho?”

He manages to duck away before it could seem rude and puts out water with the food too, having taken his time washing and drying the metal bowls that he’d washed and dried the night before. At the time, Minghao had supposed Dokyeom would just take to Vernon more, it was only natural. His roommate was a dog-person. Minghao was barely a people-person. So what was he even worrying about?

It’s fine. This will be fine.

In retrospect, he wouldn’t even have to be like a father to the dog. They could just be friends. Or roommates. Like he and Vernon are. But with more care.

It’s so simple.

🐶

Except Dokyeom didn’t just take to Vernon more.

In fact, Minghao isn’t so sure he takes more than he gives—attention, affection, constantly wanting to be pet and spoken to, carrying around toys to be thrown so he can retrieve it or tugged from him so he can tug back, but always opening his mouth to let go if he sensed that Vernon would let go.

Unlike any of the few dogs Minghao’s met, Dokyeom _asks_ for things. He thinks, at first, that it could just be the previous owners trained him. But Vernon couldn’t teach him to sit for anything and the closest they’ve gotten to giving paw was jumping on the couch after sitting too long.

No, Dokyeom did ask for things. He’d walk to the couch and put his head on their knee or press the side of his face to their legs if they were standing, make them look at him. It was the way he blinked his eyes at one or both of them, round and warm and too expressive to be ignored. He always asked, never barked.

If he wanted something, that is. Their dog barked. At the landlord, the cats in the fire escape across the street too, but Vernon was convinced he wanted to befriend them. Minghao didn’t have an answer for that. He was just glad their landlord seemed too taken by Dokyeom’s charm to be upset about the noise.

Pet lovers would call it “having a personality” because that’s exactly how Vernon’s parents described it when they facetimed in the living room.

“Like Aji!” he’d told Minghao from over his shoulder and Minghao had smiled pleasantly, not feeling safe enough on the other end of the couch to think to himself, _Nothing like Aji_ , until his roommate had turned his attention back to the call.

He had met Mingyu’s family dog once when Mingyu’s mother had visited. Needless to say, Aji didn’t leave much of an impression but then, this was before Minghao learned that his off-handed comments about his plans for the future would later be used against him.

His eyes fell from the bleary television and wandered to Dokyeom who’d curled up on his bed, the tip of his tail swishing back and forth on a purple puzzle piece of Styrofoam. Without much thought, Minghao patted the cushion he was sitting on and Dokyeom’s head rose before the rest of his body followed.

His paws pitter-pattered along the hardwood and when he got close enough, Minghao helped him up on the couch. He sniffed, whiskers twitching as he sat.

“Dokyeom.”

His head tilted to the side.

Minghao tapped his palm to his thigh twice, lips pursing together tentatively until the dog curled into the couch and rest his head in Minghao’s lap. He peered up at Minghao then, those same round, warm eyes that were asking for one of, honestly, quite few things.

So Minghao placed his hand on top of Dokyeom’s head. And let it rest there. Not much of a pet. Not really petting at all.

But he felt Dokyeom rub his head up into his palm, so maybe it wasn’t unwelcome. And maybe, Minghao thinks as he leans his head back on the couch, Dokyeom could be okay with this too.

“Yeah, I think Myungho would be fine with DK.”

He looks up just as Vernon looks over his shoulder again. He’s still on facetime with his parents.

“I’ll just be gone for two weeks, less,” he hesitates slightly to say, eyebrows raising.

And then Minghao remembers, oh, because the semester is over in a few days.

“Oh,” because Vernon told him he was going home to New York for a bit and then coming back.

Had it been that long since Dokyeom’s first night?

“Yeah,” Minghao nods, fingers curling slightly as Dokyeom starts snoring softly. “Yeah, I—we’ll be fine. Together. Me and Dokyeom. We will—definitely.”

🐶

Dokyeom likes so many things.

He likes this place and the mat that feels soft under his toes, but he can’t eat up. He likes eating because this place always has enough to eat and sometimes, he gets a little extra to eat. Even though he can’t give paw and doesn’t like to sit, he usually gets something anyway and he likes that so much.

Dokyeom likes running after the small stuffed moose that smells like a friend and tugging at a rope, but he always stops before it’s let go because he doesn’t want it to be let go, he wants to keep tugging!

Fetching too, he thinks he’s really starting to like fetching. Fetching is the best because balls are the best, especially ones he can’t chew up and ones that are bumpy that don’t make his teeth snag on his tongue, those are probably his favorites besides the ones that make noise. He really, really, _really_ likes the ones that make noise.

Noise is just good for him if it’s noise in this place. Everything about this place, really, Dokyeom really likes a lot. It was better than the shelter, better than his last place even! This place is the best because it has so many things he likes, like running and eating and sleeping and playing and balls for fetching and ropes for tugging and that moose that smells like a friend.

This place, really, is really the best because it has nice people, and Dokyeom likes them the best. He likes putting his head on their laps when they sit because they throw the ball for him and when he gets hungry, they always feed him, and even though he’s no good with sitting or giving paw, they still give him treats.

That’s the best and that makes him happy and sometimes, it makes him so happy that he flops down on the floor panting because everything is so good here and he’s happy.

Dokyeom is happy and he likes everything here so much (except the mailman. The mailman is suspicious. Dokyeom is onto you, mailman!) but lately, he thinks he really loves some things more than others.

He loves treats, the green ones that Vernon says will make his breath less smelly (he doesn’t think that’s very nice because sometimes Vernon’s breath is smelly too) and the brown ones that go crunch-crunch.

He loves his soft bed on his soft puzzle mat, and he loves sleeping there when the sun gets high in the sky and makes the space warm.

He loves talking to the cats across the window. He knows they’re there! Do they know he’s there? He hopes so.

But most of all, he loves Vernon and Myungho.

Vernon and Myungho are the things he loves the most because they live in this place and Vernon smiles and laughs and pets him nicely and rubs his belly, which is one of Dokyeom’s favorite things. Vernon talks to him a lot about work and outside and his family and it’s all very nice to listen to because Dokyeom loves Vernon.

Dokyeom loves Myungho too. He wants to spend more time with Myungho, especially when Vernon is not home. He likes eating with Myungho, sitting on the couch with Myungho, playing with Myungho, sniffing Myungho’s shoes but not chew on them because only bad dogs chew on shoes (but Myungho has so many shoes!), and most of all, he really likes when Myungho pets him.

Myungho pets him in a special way, a totally different way from how Vernon pets him, but Dokyeom really likes it when Myungho pets him. Myungho will pat the couch and let him jump up, then put his hand on Dokyeom’s head. It’s always warm and soft and Myungho has nice, pretty hands and his fingers are gentle and firm at the same time and Dokyeom _really_ loves that.

Sometimes Myungho will look at him from the table or when they sit on the floor together. Like he wants to ask Dokyeom something so Dokyeom tells Myungho to ask him anything he wants! It’s Myungho’s place and they are together in Myungho’s place so it’s okay if Myungho wants to ask Dokyeom things! He doesn’t though, but that’s okay too because then he just puts his hand on Dokyeom’s head. And it’s just really, really good.

But sometimes Myungho is sad.

Myungho doesn’t say he is and Vernon won’t either, but Vernon knows so that’s how Dokyeom knows.

Dokyeom doesn’t like when Myungho is sad. He doesn’t like not knowing why Myungho is sad. It makes Dokyeom sad when he doesn’t know. (Why won’t you say why you’re sad, Myungho? You can tell Dokyeom, Dokyeom will help you!)

He can hear it when Myungho is sad.

“Are you disappointed?”

Dokyeom looks down at Myungho’s feet on the floor, nosing into his belly so Myungho holds his noise box higher. He didn’t mean to do that, he just wanted to comfort Myungho.

“Why would I be disappointed?” The other voice isn’t new, Dokyeom has heard it before when Myungho talks into his small noise rectangle. Dokyeom’s heard it a few times.

“ _M_ _ā_ ,” he feels Myungo’s belly rumble next to his ear, “You know I don’t—you can just say it if you are.”

“I’m not.” There’s a short hum and it reminds Dokyeom of when Myungho catches him sniffing his many, many shoes except it wasn’t Myungho this time, it was the noise box humming. Vernon uses the noise box too. But Vernon has his own small noise rectangle too!

Myungho sighs and leans back into the couch. Dokyeom keeps his face on Myungho’s belly.

“I think,” the voice says, “You put too much pressure on yourself. And you think too much about the past.”

Myungho doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t talk very much but Dokyeom likes his voice anyway. It’s one of the many things Dokyeom likes a lot.

“You liked Mingyu,” he says and that’s a name Dokyeom hasn’t heard yet. (He doesn’t think so, at least. He’d remember that, right?)

“I like whatever makes you happy.”

Dokyeom agrees, he also likes whatever makes Myungho happy!

He raises his head, mouth open and tilting his head until Myungho looks down.

Is Myungho not happy?

Myungho’s mouth moves up, then down again and then he’s looking back at the noise box.

“It’s not that simple.” He sounds not happy.

Why is Myungho not happy?

Dokyeom whines, he whines a little less when Myungho puts his hand on Dokyeom’s head. He’s happy being pet, but he’s not happy if Myungho is not happy.

He loves Myungho a lot and wants Myungho to be happy.

“It doesn’t have to be so complicated. And if Mingyu forgives you, shouldn’t you forgive yourself?”

“If I do, does it mean he hurt less?”

Hurt? Dokyeom whines. He doesn’t want anyone to hurt. He really, really, really doesn’t like hurt.

“It means you hurt less,” the voice says and that kind of sounds like Myungho, soft but also firm, and Dokyeom agrees with anything that hurts less. No hurt is best, but less hurt is good too.

But he can feel that Myungho is still sad even after he smiles and says goodbye to the noise box. He gets up, making Dokyeom move and Dokyeom is okay with that because Myungho probably needs to sleep. Dokyeom is only allowed to sleep in Vernon’s bed but not Myungho’s but Vernon is not home yet and Myungho is still sad.

Vernon has been gone longer than usual. Dokyeom could have sworn he’s supposed to be home when Dokyeom wakes up even if he isn’t when the sun goes down. Where did Vernon go? Will he come back?

He sits on the floor and watches Myungho stretch his arms up above his head. When he’s done, Dokyeom makes his eyes big and whines.

 _Don’t be sad, Myungho_ , he whines and whines, _I love you, Myungho, don’t be sad!_

Myungho lets out a sigh, the kind that makes his shoulders droop a little. His hair is a little longer now than Dokyeom remembers, Dokyeom can tell because Myungho toys with the hair near his neck a bit. But then Myungho nods to the hall where his room is and says in his quiet, quiet voice, “Come on,” so Dokyeom stands because he! Has! Never! Been! Inside! Myungho’s! Room!

His claws go click-click and scratch-scratch on the floor because only his spot has the mat, but he follows Myungho to his room and wow! It’s the best!

Myungho turns on the lamp next to the bed and says, “Up you go,” so up he went! He jumps onto Myungho’s bed which smells just like Myungho and smells like this place the most so it’s going to be another thing that Dokyeom loves. Myungho has sheets too, so he scrambles to the foot of the bed to dig under the sheets just like Vernon lets him do with his sheets.

It smells _even more_ like Myungho, so much like Myungho that Dokyeom curls into himself when he lays down. And it’s so nice. It’s so nice even when Myungho pulls the sheet down to get in bed and wow, he pulls them back up just like Vernon does!

Dokyeom sneaks a peak to ask but then he notices that Myungho’s hair really did get long and he loves it, he loves this room and the interesting smells and all the cool things that Myungho has but Vernon does not. Like slippers! Myungho has a pair of slippers under the bed, he can smell them!

But Myungho is right, only bad dogs chew on shoes. He doesn’t need them. Myungho will feed him! Dokyeom really likes Myungho because Myungho takes care of him and knows what he likes and pets him in a special way and oh, just like now, Myungho is petting him now.

He’s never been so close to Myungho’s face before. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Myungho lay down. That’s silly, everyone should lay down and sleep. Sleeping is the best. Dokyeom crawls closer to sleep against Myungho’s side but Myungho keeps his hand on Dokyeom’s head. He hopes Myungho isn’t sad anymore. If he closes his eyes too, he can wait until Myungho sleeps because no one is ever sad when they sleep.

Myungho turns off the lamp but his hand is still on Dokyeom’s head so he hopes that means Myungho is ready to sleep and stop being sad. Dokyeom will stay awake until Myungho starts snoring because that’s how Dokyeom knows when humans are asleep, just like Vernon when they sleep in Vernon’s bed. Humans. They’re just like dogs in some ways.

Dokyeom thinks Myungho is kind of like a dog, like him. When he is sad, Vernon and Myungho don’t always know why. Most times it’s just because he misses them! They spend a lot of time doing things called “job” and “work” which are probably the same thing so maybe “school” is the same as those too. Dokyeom’s not sure. They sound hard. Dokyeom likes nice, simple things.

But when Myungho is sad, Dokyeom never knows why. That’s more bad than when Dokyeom gets sad because Myungho always comes home when Dokyeom misses him. Even when he is gone, Vernon will come home or Myungho will be here when Vernon is not. But Dokyeom is always here when Myungho is. Myungho is not always happy even when he and Vernon are here.

“Good night, Dokyeom,” Myungho says in his quiet, quiet voice and his hand isn’t on Dokyeom’s head anymore, but it slides down his neck and stays on his back and that’s so nice.

 _I wish I knew what makes Myungho sad_ , Dokyeom thinks as he puts his head on Myungho’s chest, _I wish I could make it go away._

His eyelids grow heavy, closing as Myungho’s chest rises slowly and falls gently underneath him.

_I wish I could make Myungho happy._

**Author's Note:**

> leave a kudos, maybe yell with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/chenstanclub).


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